Since Nimbus's particular noise-reduction methods have aroused
some controversy, it's probably worth considering the technical
aspects of this album first.

The current processing comes off best in lighter textures, where
the sense of presence is breathtaking. In the unaccompanied
cadenzas of the two Ballo arias, Welitsch's voice can
almost be felt against the silent backgrounds - its presence
is almost tangible. The same goes for solo instruments in lightly
scored passages - it's clear that the cor anglais playerin Vienna, in the first Ballo aria, produces a more
pleasing tone than the Philharmonia's tight, squawky oboe in
the Aïda.

In the bigger passages, the problem isn’t the touch of congestion
in some tuttis, which - like the slight furriness around
the soprano's top notes in Lisa's two arias and elsewhere -
probably inheres in the original recordings, or in the LPs used
as source material for this issue. It’s just that these passages
sound generalized, less detailed; nor does Welitsch's voice
stand out so starkly against the full orchestra. So the solos
and the lighter textures end up sounding more vivid than the
tuttis, a topsy-turvy effect.

Still, the sound is never less than satisfactory, and it's good
to have such a document of Ljuba Welitsch's singing so readily
available both to veteran listeners and to a new generation
of operaphiles. The Bulgarian soprano’s voice was more Slavic
than Italianate - bright and clean, rather than lush and sweeping,
the timbre warmed by a narrow but even vibrato. One wonders,
however, whether the processing has shortchanged her deeper
sounds - we don’t hear the darker colors audible in, say, the
Columbia-Sony recording of the Met Fledermaus. The resulting
clarity is refreshing in repertoire that usually falls to Big
Honking Dramatics, without sacrificing the required intensity
or passion.
Salome was perhaps the role for which Welitsch received her
widest acclaim. Its distinction lay in the soprano’s ability
to project over Strauss's large orchestra while maintaining
a youthful, age-appropriate timbre. What I found most striking,
however, was how easy it all sounds. There's never a
sense that Welitsch is pressing or fighting through the mass
of instrumental sound. The voice simply soars, clarion and expressive,
over the churning orchestra - it's something to hear.

Welitsch came by a generous Slavic temperament naturally, and
her stylish renditions of the Tchaikovsky selections are only
slightly compromised by her singing of them in German translation.
As in Salome, she sounds convincingly youthful but has sufficient
resources to fill out the broad phrases; her manner is impulsive,
though I can imagine a more mercurial Tatyana. The big Weber
scene, too, goes with a nice variety.

Welitsch's clear tones might seem an odd match for Verdi and
Puccini. But the Ballo Amelia, on this showing, must
have been a fine role for her. Both arias are full of feeling,
and the Morrò, where the soprano outlines the phrases
with a haunting purity, is unabashedly glorious. The cadenzas
are smooth and assured, with the top note cleanly attacked each
time, and no clumsy register shifts on the way down. The Aïda,
on the other hand, disappoints: it’s all shallowed-out vowels,
with no depth or warmth, and the legato not fully bound. Perhaps
Welitsch was uncomfortable with Josef Krips's temperamentally
foreign conducting, which offers little more than efficient,
musical traffic direction. The Tosca duet is lively and
well-sung, with Richard Tucker an ardent partner; conversely,
Welitsch’s bar-by-bar tempo changes in the aria, though well-intentioned,
seem a bit much.

The operetta selections are fun. Rosalinde was a big Welitsch
role at the Metropolitan, in Howard Dietz's Broadwayish English
translation; here, she clearly finds the original German more
comfortable, though she doesn't quite sing all the notes in
the downward chromatic run. I rather enjoyed her no-nonsense
Vilja, forthright and lustrous, unencumbered by any need
to manufacture "diva moments". It's the Millöcker-Makeben
concoction, though, that most strongly conveys the Viennese
atmosphere.

The soprano’s rather brief career trajectory - she debuted in
1936, and the voice was all but spent by 1953 - suggests technical
faults. For all the brilliance and "cut" of Welitsch's
top, when the tessitura stays high - the final pages of Non
mi dir; the rise to high C in Ma dall'arido stelo;
the concluding phrase of the Fledermaus "Csardas"- the singing is strained and throaty. And, as can happen
with such forwardly positioned voices, there's a tendency to
drift sharp, although never damagingly so - Tucker tactfully
corrects the pitch at one point in the Tosca scene.

A more serious, purely musical problem was Welitsch's habit
of rushing for no obvious reason - it's not as if she were short
of breath. The forward push sounds unrelated to any particular
pulse, suggesting perhaps a basic deficiency in the soprano’s
feeling for rhythm. The effect in the last section of Non
mi dir is rather comical: after rushing the first few phrases,
she has to slam the brakes on for the coloratura!

The diverse conductors are all at least competent, and sometimes
better. Fritz Reiner directs the Salome scene with assurance,
and sculpts the textures of Or sai chi l’onore nicely;
in Non mi dir, he’s too busy scurrying after the soloist
to maintain clean ensemble. Rudolf Moralt, in Vienna, and Max
Rudolf, at the Met, also provide stylish backups.

I’d say this collection is an essential acquisition for opera
lovers - at least, for those not bothered by the rushing.

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